KOOKY AUSTALIAN KOOKABURRA

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Monday, January 14, 2008

Mount Dora Lighthouse The Mount Dora Lighthouse is located on Lake Dora north of Orlando.The 35 foot lighthouse was dedicated on March 25, 1988. Built of bricks covered with stucco, the lighthouse stands sentry over the Port of Mount Dora. Its 750-watt photocell powers a blue pulsator sending out a guiding light to all boaters navigating Lake Dora after dusk.

History of the Lighthousephoto credit: ginger barberA lighthouse is a tower that has a bright light at the top. It is located at an important or dangerous place regarding navigation. The two main purposes of a lighthouse are to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas. Nighttime is the most dangerous time to navigate, and the main reason lighthouses exist is because in the darkness, you can see a light.

A lighthouse can be found in many different places on rocky cliffs, on land, on a reef in the sea, or at entrances to harbors and bays. They serve to warn the sailor of dangerous reefs under the sea or dangerous rocky coasts on land, and to guide ships into a safe harbor or back out to sea.

For thousands of years before Thomas Edison invented the electric lamp in 1879, different fuels were used to light the lamps, including wood and coal for fires. The main source of power for the light today is electricity. Before the days of electricity, they had to light the lamp at sunset and put it out at sunrise. During an 8-hour watch at night they had to climb the stairs in the tower one to three times a night to check on the lamp and wind the weights.

In colonial times, before we became an independent nation, men realized the need for lighthouses at the major ports to help guide ships into the harbors, to prevent them from crashing, and losing their precious cargoes. So, the first lighthouses were built by the colonies.

The first lighthouse in America was the Boston Lighthouse on Brewser Island in Boston Harbor. The lighthouse was first lit in 1716, but was destroyed during the Revolutionary War. Today, all of the lighthouses in our country have been automated, except the one at Boston, which still has keepers, for sentimental reasons only. The first keeper was George Worthylake who drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the island 1718.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." -- John 8:12

"Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them." -- John 12:36

And when I'm tossed it sends out a lightA light that I might see And the light that shines in darkness now Will safely lead us homeIf it wasn't for the Lighthouse My ship would be no more

Chorus: And I thank God for the Lighthouse (I owe it all to Him)I owe my life to Him (for Jesus is the LighthouseFor Jesus is the Lighthouse (and from the rocks of sin)

And from the rocks of sin (He has shown His light) He has shown a light around me (that I might see)

That I might clearly see

If it wasn't for the Lighthouse (well tell me) Where would this ship be?

Well, everybody that lives about us

They say tear that Lighthouse down

You know the big ships don't sail this way anymoreThere's no use of it standing roundThen my mind goes back to that stormy nightWhen just in time I saw the lightYes, the light from that old LighthouseThat stands up there on the hill

Repeat Chorus (x2)

If it wasn't for the Lighthouse (tell me)Where would this ship be?

Some Famous American Lighthouses Are:

Marblehead - Oldest on the Great Lakes

Boston Lighthouse - First lighthouse built in the United States

Tillamook Rock, OR - Exemplary engineering feats

Sandy Hook Lighthouse - Oldest Standing Lighthouse in USA

Cape Henry Light - First Lighthouse actually built by the Government of the United States

Navesink, NJ - Site of first Fresnel experiments in this country

Thomas Point Shoal, MD - Last screw-pile on Chesapeake Bay

Point Pinos, CA - Oldest on the West Coast

Minot's Ledge -first stone lighthouse built in the ocean in the United States